In the land of Merovance, Matt Mantrell and his wife, Queen Alisande have a good life. Except that Matt is getting restless and Alisande knows this. She also knows that some strange goings on in Latruria, causing her peasants in the south to grow discontent. While she doesn't want Matt to leave her side, she knows that he needs to stretch his legs and reestablish his own identity. So rather than have him come up with some hairbrained scheme on his own, she asks him to investigate the situation on the Merovance/Latruria border and determine what, if anything, she needs to do to address the situation. So Matt travels south and finds much more than he or his queen imagined: a lovesick poet, a hungry manitore, a corrupt chancellor, a humanist philosopher, and a horde of homeless partyers seeking the bright lights and the big city.

I know I've mentioned this before, but I continue to be struck by the subtlety and wit that Stasheff brings to the table. His double entendres and back and forth dialogue is interesting and playful. Adding Saul to the mix at the end must have been an absolute joy to write and you can feel the energy that Matt and Saul have together, feeding off one another. We also add another dimension to this universe, more fully fleshing out the magic system a little more - now it is known to be like the Force - a life force that surrounds all things, but the purpose to which it is put comes from either Good or Evil. It may be possible to walk the fine line between good and evil, but Stasheff does a pretty good job of showing that there really is no gray here - even someone who does everything he can to stay neutral will, in the end, be forced to choose. ( )